


Ashes in the Water

by Asellas



Series: Saecula Saeculorum [2]
Category: Ghost (Sweden Band)
Genre: Angst, Feelings, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Porn With Plot, Violent Sex, unbeta'd af
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 13:53:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15775422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asellas/pseuds/Asellas
Summary: A story on how a certain odd little water ghoul came to join the band, and how the multi-instrumentalist ghoul becomes attached to him.





	Ashes in the Water

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be just quick, sloppy porn, then it grew into porn with feelings, then into just lots of feelings, and then plot happened?
> 
> Ack?

“Go, see what you can find. New blood is always welcome in the church,” Sister Imperator directs him, a halo of black and violet light enveloping her hands as she traces the symbols in the air, the sweet tide of demonic power filling the chamber as Papa II chants with a quiet, low voice. The air above the pentagram shimmers, a line forming from the floor to almost eight feet in height before the portal opens in a rush of heat and sulfur. Blaze calmly adjusts the sleeves of his cassock before bowing his head in deference to the head sister of sin and the second Emeritus.

“By your leave Sister, Papa,” he murmurs, adjusting his mask and the strap of the messenger bag looped over his shoulder as he steps through the portal into the hot, roaring caverns of Hell. Just inside he turns, sketching a glyph in the air till the portal shimmers out of view, a ward to keep the riff raff from entering the church uninvited. He takes a moment to feel the ebb and swell of power that swirls about his ankles, the ever-changing flow that constantly shifts the caverns and halls if areas are not properly anchored down with a glyph. Something prickles along the edge of his senses and he turns, contemplating the cavern before walking forward, the click of his dress shoes on the hard stone floor echoing in the darkness.

He walks for what could be minutes or hours, time distorted in the face of the shifting tide of power that suffused the place. Finally, the hall opens into a large space, the cavernous walls now more uniform in shape and color and displaying some form of architecture; the earth ghouls had touched this place, leaving their marks in the element that they wield. Glyphs that radiated a stable, humming power were carved into the walls or floor in regular intervals, preventing the ambient power from twisting and distorting the space. Soon the decoration in the stone became more apparent and skillful, an indication that he was nearly to the place he was looking for.

The central cavern that the ghouls lived in had no name but was a sight to behold. Extensively carved pillars meters thick rose from the floor till the tops faded into the inky darkness above, long, sweeping arched bridges ran from the columns to terraces carved into the walls. Plazas with carved marble fountains were set around the cavern, the pathways between forming an elaborate pentacle. Each plaza was devoted to one of the elements; water bubbled and splashed merrily from one, liquid flame danced and crackled in another. One was overgrown in soft moss and luminescent mushrooms, a breeze of both cold and hot wind wound from the fountain head of another as electric sparks dances long the carved marble. At the last plaza a pitch-black liquid tumbled from the fountain into the basin; looking inside one could see the swirl of colors all dancing together in the darkness, dotted about with brilliant, shining pinpricks of light. To Blaze it was like looking up into the night sky back before electric lights had clouded the air, gazing upon the infinite expanse of space beyond.

His appearance had already attracted attention; ghouls wandering about would slow to look at him, a quiet chittering flowing through the sparse groups. Blaze wanders about, looking over the ghouls he passes, occasionally pausing to speak to one with a series of sounds, all growls, clicks, hisses and chirps. He’s seen about fifty or so ghouls before one finally catches his attention, and he beckons it to him with a grunt. From his bag Blaze pulls a hardbound book with pages made of vellum. Opening it to a blank page almost halfway through the book, Blaze nods to the ghoul and holds out a finger. He’s an earth ghoul, judging by the calm, stoic face and the power that curls from him as he slices his thumb on Blaze’s outstretched claw, pressing it to the sheet to leave a smear of blood on the surface. Blaze scratches a quick glyph above the stain and snaps the book shut, nodding to the ghoul before continuing on his way.

The pickings are slim, Blaze thinks, as he slips into the caverns on his way back to the portal. He’s gone through maybe a hundred and fifty, two hundred ghouls and ghoulettes, and only found seven that had the potential Sister Imperator was looking for. They would never admit it to the Sister or any of the Papas, but the high-level ghouls all had something of a contest going to see who could recruit the best ghouls from Hell. Air was currently winning after finding a magnificent pair of air ghoulettes a few of years ago. They had an uncanny ability with the keyboards and synthesizers, almost rivaling the ancient air ghoul’s own talent. Alpha had found the smallest fire ghoul any of them had ever seen little over a year ago, and he was already playing with the band. Blaze had yet to find a ghoul that would fit in with the Ghost project, instead contenting himself with finding ghouls that could be of other use to Sister Imperator.

He’s nearing the cave the portal is hidden in when he passes a curious scene. Three ghouls, all dirty and wearing torn clothes to mark them as part of the lowest caste, crowd around a lump on the stone floor. They chitter excitedly as they kick at it, one vicious blow causing a whimper to come from the lump. It’s another ghoul he realizes, curled upon itself in defense as the three others kick and scratch at it. The scent of blood, desperation, and pain radiates from the form, scratching at Blaze’s mind and driving the attackers into a near-frenzy.

 _Not your problem, leave them be,_ he thinks to himself, almost wincing as the creature cries out in pain as a foot stomps against its ribs. Blaze thinks he could hear the bones creak and snap, knowing he should just leave but flicking his eyes over one last time.

 _Fuck me,_ he curses, as the ghoul’s deep, crystalline blue eyes latch onto his own, its gaze begging him silently for absolution. Those eyes are what does him in, the color so like ones he still dreamt of after two centuries of having seen them last. He strides at the group, growling deep in his throat, baring fangs behind his mask. The three ghouls cease their torment, all turning to snarl at Blaze though the sound dies in their throats as they see his mask and tailored uniform; clergy ghouls were the highest caste among them, disrespecting them was a good way to become permanently maimed, or even killed. He flexes his claws and hisses a low warning, ready to pounce and fight should any of them not take his threat seriously. They don’t seem quite as dumb as he thought, as they shrink back and bare their necks in submission before scurrying away into the dark cavern.

The tormented ghoul makes a small rattling noise as it tries to breathe through a broken nose dripping blood, one of his eyes beginning to swell shut. Under the stink of sweat, pain, and terror Blaze can make out the clear and cool scent of water ghoul as he kneels down to pull the ghoul into his arms. He’s not small but is quite malnourished, allowing Blaze to heft his weight with only a bit of difficulty as he rises to his feet. The water ghoul keens quietly and curls into Blaze, crooked fingers with broken and cracked claws grasping at his cassock as he sways slightly as Blaze hurries back through the portal and to the castle.

Once back in the cool, quiet confines of the church Blaze takes a moment to break the circle, the portal snapping out of existence with a pop and a puff of ozone. The chamber is thankfully unoccupied as Blaze makes his way into the dark hallways, heading straight for his own chamber. He mutters a quick thanks to Lucifer for not being found as he manages the door with his tail, kicking it shut as he sets the injured ghoul gently on top of his bed. Those quiet blue eyes watch him silently as Blaze tosses his bag onto a desk before kneeling at the bedside.

“Stay here,” he commands, though he’s pretty sure the water ghoul couldn’t run off if he wanted to at the moment. He leaves, shutting the door behind him gently before trotting down the hall to the next wing over. He skids to a stop before a door and knocks on it loudly, bracing his arms on the frame as he calms himself. He can hear someone talking quietly on the other side and pounds on the door again, almost giving in to the urge to just barrel into the room himself when the door opens a crack.

“What’s in the hell is going on, it’s three in the morning,” Omega growls, voice still thick with sleep. Blaze can hear Alpha mumbling angrily from further in the room.

“I need help,” Blaze bites out, barely holding onto his diminishing composure.

“Are you hurt,” Omega asks with genuine concern, blinking the sleep from his eyes and opening the door wider to take a look at Blaze.

“No,” Blaze shakes his head, “Someone else.”

“The fuck does he want, come back to bed,” Alpha grumbles, draping himself over his mate’s back and giving Blaze an irritated look.

“Please,” Blaze bites out through gritted teeth. He’d normally snap back at the other fire ghoul; though they got along well enough they were both too dominant to avoid ruffling each other’s feathers on occasion. Blaze didn’t have the time for a territorial spat, desperate for Omega to see to the water ghoul he’d recently acquired.

“Yeah, okay just let me get dressed,” Omega nods, understanding the urgency and worry that bleeds off the tan-skinned fire ghoul. Alpha growls something as the door shuts, and Blaze takes off back to his room.

\--

The water ghoul is right where Blaze had left him, curled up on the bedspread. Blaze wishes he could have gotten him into the tiny bathtub in his bathroom and washed off the layer of grime caked on his skin, but first things first he needed medical attention. Instead he grabs a stack of towels and washcloths, soaking a few in water from the tap before settling at the bedside. As gentle as he can, Blaze slowly begins to wipe away dirt and blood from his face, trilling gently when the hurt ghoul whimpers as he touches the swollen flesh of his right eye with the wet cloth.

There’s a knock at the door and before Blaze can move Omega enters, followed by an irritated Alpha. Both are wearing sweatpants and soft t-shirts and he can hear the soft intake of breath as Omega takes in the injured ghoul. Wordlessly he joins Blaze kneeling at the bedside, reaching out to cradle his head in his hands.

“You can tell me the story later,” Omega murmurs as he begins to work, letting his power pool in his fingertips to be directed as he sees fit. Blaze nods, moving back to stand against the wall and let Omega have room to work. The ghoul’s unswollen left eye tracks his movements diligently, never once leaving Blaze.

“Where did you pick him up from,” Alpha yawns, squatting against the wall next to Blaze. “You went downstairs today, didn’t you?”

Blaze doesn’t bother answering, instead watching as Omega’s hands move slowly down the water ghoul’s face, swollen skin and cuts shrinking till they disappear in his wake.

“Wait, you didn’t bring him _back_ with you, did you,” Alpha asks incredulously. Blaze grinds his teeth together, trying to resist the urge to pick the other fire ghoul up by the throat and chuck him bodily from the room. “You did, oh _shit_ you did. Sister is going to be livid.”

“Alpha,” Omega hisses in warning, “You’re scaring him. Hush or go back to sleep.”

Alpha sighs but complies with his mate’s request. Omega makes a noise when his hands brush aside the tattered remains of a shirt to lay palms against ribs, the gentle power flowing from him spiking incandescent as he pieces together snapped and broken shards of ribs back to their original shape.

“Poor bastard,” Alpha mumbles, wincing at the pained cry the increase in healing power drags from the water ghoul’s lips. Blaze grunts in agreement, breathing loudly through his nose. He wants to go open the portal and stalk the caverns till he finds that trio again, wants to tear his claws through their flesh and burn them to ash as they scream in agony. He grinds his teeth together, tail twitching and thumping against the wall.

“There’s a bit of a problem,” Omega says some time later, once he’s gone over the entirety of the ghoul’s body. The poor thing is left limp and panting, barely clinging to consciousness. Blaze pushes himself from the wall and stands next to the quintessence ghoul, nodding his head for him to elaborate.

“It’s his hands,” Omega sighs, picking up the limb gently, running a gentle thumb over scarred knuckles. The fingers are misshapen, curled in and all twisted at odd angles. “It’s an old injury and set badly, I’ll have to rebreak them to fix it.”

Blaze looks into the half-lidded dark blue eyes, silently asking what the water ghouls wants. They gaze back at him, filled with an odd trust that Blaze doesn’t believe he deserves. If he understood what was being said he makes no sign, leaving Blaze to make the horrible choice for him. As they were, his hands would be practically useless, barely allowing him to do even the simplest of tasks. Blaze sits on the bed, gently pulling the water ghoul till his head rested on the meat of his thigh. He tries to run fingers through his dark hair, but it’s so matted the task is impossible, leaving Blaze to instead pet and stroke at it gently.

“Do it,” he says, looking into Omega’s eyes and nodding. Better to get this done now than have to go through everything again later, he supposes. Omega nods back, taking a deep breath as he starts with the smallest finger, holding it delicately in his large, strong hands. He falls into a light trance, focusing his concentration on the digits, mentally mapping out where the long-healed breaks leave etched lines.

With sure, sharp movements, he begins snapping bones.

The sound is horrendous, making Alpha and Blaze flinch. The water ghoul gives a pained gasp as the first phalange breaks, keening high and sharp when the second and third snap. Omega holds it straight as he adjusts the flow of healing power, rebuilding the finger from memory alone. The power fades and he moves to the next finger, pausing as the ghoul shudders and sobs in agony. Blaze pets at his hair soothingly, brushing at the tears that streak down his cheeks. He whispers quiet, sweet words, trying to distract and reassure the ghoul.

There were just nine more to go.

\--

Alpha had helped Blaze carry the limp, twitching form of the water ghoul into his bathroom once Omega had finished repairing his mangled hands, the quintessence ghoul worn out and slumped against the bed. They scrubbed the layers of grime and blood from his skin in silence, Alpha keeping his promise not to antagonize Blaze any further for the time being. They towel him dry and carry him back to the bedroom, wrapping him in a blanket and laying him on the mattress.

“I’ll come back by later, see how his hands are,” Omega says, trying and failing to suppress a yawn. Alpha slings an arm around his mate’s shoulders, allowing the hefty ghoul to lean into him.

“Thank you,” Blaze says, bowing his head to the quintessence ghoul. The door clicks shut, leaving him alone to contemplate the curled-up form sleeping on his bed. It was those damn eyes, glittering like cut Kashmir sapphires, just like Azure’s used to.

The memory twists his gut sharply, making him clutch at his chest and curl into himself as the pain of the centuries-old loss leaves him barely able to breathe. The ancient wound throbs as he reels, trying to lock it back away in the corner of his mind. He’s left panting as if he’d run a marathon, body shaking as he falls over to the floor, staring at the ceiling till his mind goes blank with sleep.

\--

She sits watching him intently, blue eyes shining in the moonlight as she laughs. He can’t remember the sound of it, whether is was deep and rich or light and airy, but he knows how her eyes would shine, the color seemingly going a few shades brighter as the skin around them would pull and crinkle at the corners. She runs hands over the taunt muscles of his chest, kissing at the bared skin as her hands wrap around his cock, already hard and weeping for her. The first touch of her lips to the head, tongue darting out to flick against the velvety skin like he was some kind of lollypop, sends electric shocks down his spine. He groans, hips jerking as she takes him in completely, sucking with each long pull up before bobbing back down his thick length. The bone deep need for her, his mate, gone for so, so long, throbs in his groin, scattering the weak attempts of his brain to process anything beyond the sucking wet heat around his cock. He feels the familiar build of climax begin to curl in his gut and he reaches down for her, loving her mouth but wanting to be inside her, desperate for the tight heat of her clamped around him as he fills her, instincts screaming to claim, to breed, he is _hers_ and she is _his_. And—

She’s gone, over two hundred years turned to ash.

He wakes as his heart wrenches violently at the realization, the sudden rush of chemicals from his brain pushing him over the edge with the most intense orgasm he’s had in no less than half a century. He sobs as his hips buck, thrusting deep into the hot mouth still clamped over his dick and filling it with his seed. The clever tongue laps at his slit, throat working to swallow every last drop of cum before letting him go with a wet pop.

When his heart finally stops feeling like it were trying to evacuate from his ribcage Blaze props himself on one arm, catching that wide gemstone blue gaze of the water ghoul that he’d rescued the day before.

“Don’t you ever fucking do that again,” he snarls, the sharp pain of loss shortening his temper and he bares his fangs. He flops back onto the floor, not noticing that the weight on his lower half goes away as he struggles with his emotions and memories that he thought he had sorted out a hundred years prior. It’s long, tense minutes till he’s got himself under some semblance of control, reminding himself that he’s been here before and made it out fine, he can do it again if he needed. With a shuddering sigh he rises, absently tucking himself back into his pants, running a hand through his mussed hair. A quiet sniffling from the other side of his room grabs his attention as he stands and looking over he finds the water ghoul cowering in the corner.

He walks over, those damned blue eyes tracking his every movement. Blaze reaches down to touch him but the ghoul flinches away, curling into a tight ball and keening.

“Oh, fuck, I’m sorry,” he groans, dropping to his knees. Blaze moves to pull the water ghoul to him but he resists, stinking of fear as his eyes shimmer with tears.

“I didn’t mean… here, please,” Blaze whispers, the ghoul finally relenting and letting Blaze pull him into his lap. He presses their lips together and kisses him gently before dropping his head and nuzzling his throat, whispering a litany of apologies against soft skin. His composure begins to crack again, the strain of trying to comfort the terrified water ghoul and keep himself together proves to be too much at once. He ends up clinging to the ghoul as hot tears drip down his face, licking and nipping at bare skin to try and ground himself.

This was how Omega and Alpha find them, curled up in the corner clinging to each other, Blaze quietly sobbing into the water ghoul’s neck.

“Aw, fuck,” Alpha mutters as his mate rushes over to see what help he could offer. He stays by the door, not sure if going any closer would cause Blaze to lash out violently in the presence of another dominate male in his current state. Omega eventually gets the fire ghoul calmed down and seated on his bed, head held in his hands as he tries to regulate his breathing.

“Sister wants to see you,” the quintessence ghoul murmurs, rubbing at Blaze’s back in sympathy. After a pause he quietly adds, “And will want to see him.”

“I know,” Blaze sighs, voice hoarse. “Gotta find him something to wear, can’t parade him about naked.”

“I’ll go find something,” Alpha offers, taking the chance to slip away from the room and its depressive atmosphere. Once the door clicks shut behind him Omega sits back on his heels in front of Blaze, tapping at his knee.

“What’s going on,” he asks gently, himself shaken by the whole ordeal. Blaze shudders, chewing on his bottom lip.

“He reminds me of… of _her_ ,” he whispers, breathing in deeply as he rides out the surge of pain even thinking about her brings.

“Oh.” Omega nods, understanding the implications. They had all expected Blaze to give up with the death of his mate, to curl up and waste away till death took him as well. It was a far more common outcome with ghouls; mates weren’t just lovers, they were a fundament part of each other. He remembers now, all those years ago, as Alpha had been tasked by the clergy to bring Blaze back, one way or another. They’d ventured out to the sweltering jungle, the sky dark with ash and the air smelling of sulfur and burning things, getting as close to the caldera as Omega would risk. Alpha had stripped, shoving his bundle of garments into his hands before kissing him, descending into the rumbling volcano to try and convince the despairing fire ghoul to return with them.

He’d been successful, returning with a barely conscious Blaze and the both of them bleeding the heat of magma from their unburnt skin. Omega still isn’t sure to this day what Alpha had said or done as he’d waded into the lava flows to drag Blaze back and as such has left the subject untouched. Some things he wasn’t meant to know, this was one of them.

“Can I do anything,” Omega asks gently; the church needed it’s most powerful ghouls now more than ever; the current peace was tenuous, the threat that Heaven and Hell go back to war always lurking, waiting for the right spark to light the flame.

“I’m… I’m going to take a shower. If I’m not out in fifteen minutes, see if I’ve drowned,” Blaze mutters, easing off the bed and walking stiffly into his bathroom. Omega lets out a sigh as the shower turns on, regarding the water ghoul still tucked into the corner. He’d fallen asleep, tail curled tight around his legs, snoring gently.

“What a mess this all is,” he mutters, standing and stretching out the kinks in his back. He should have known better than to hope that the castle would be calm and problem free with Papa III away, though he was the largest cause of the church’s current problems. There’s a tap at the door and Alpha sticks his head in, slipping inside with a bundle of clothes clutched to his chest.

“Hey, I think these might fit. Hopefully none of the sisters saw me,” he says, tossing the clothing to his mate. Omega catches it and shakes out the cloth, laying the pieces on the bed and trying to smooth out the wrinkles the short journey had imparted in the fabric. He kneels before the water ghoul, shaking him gently to wake him.

“Hey, good morning.” He smiles gently at the ghoul, who blinks at him blearily. “Come on, up you go. We need to get you dressed, and I need to see your hands.” The ghoul stands obediently, swaying slightly on his feet but otherwise managing to stay standing. He gives the clothes on the bed a glance, looking back at Omega for direction. It seemed like Alpha hadn’t been able to find a pair of underwear, just pants and a cassock, but it was better than nothing. Omega nods at the ghoul to continue, who does so with exaggerated care. Omega watches his hands as he does up the buttons on the cassock, watching how his fingers bend and move. It seems his work in the wee hours of the morning had gone well.

“Good, now give me your hands,” he orders, the ghoul thrusting them out to him without second thought. Omega grasps one with both hands, feeling the long bony digits and curling them this way and that. “Do they hurt? Does anything feel wrong,” he asks as he does the same to the other hand. The ghoul shakes his head, lowering his eyes to stare at the floor. Alpha wanders closer, getting a good look at the water ghoul.

“Damn, look at those eyes, no wonder he’s losing his shit,” he murmurs, noting the uncanny resemblance to those of Blaze’s deceased mate. Blue eyes were common, especially for water ghouls, but the crystalline quality of them, the way they shimmered and the color oscillated from cobalt to aquamarine, was rare indeed.

“Can I get some privacy to get dressed or is it supposed to be a show,” Blaze asks, deadpan, as he leaves the bathroom. Steam curls off well defined tanned muscles and he has only a damp towel slung loosely around his hips.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. We’ll go warn Sister Imperator so she doesn’t flip her shit right away.” Alpha rolls his eyes and pulls at Omega’s arm, dragging the quintessence ghoul after him and out of the room. Blaze sighs and scrubs a hand over his face once the two ghouls have left, dropping the towel as he rummages for a pair of boxers from his dresser. He steps into them then drags on a pair of pants, following with a fresh cassock and fascia. As he sits on the corner of the bed to pull a pair of socks on he catches the water ghoul staring at him.

“Well someone got a show I guess,” Blaze sighs, finishing making himself presentable. “Let’s go see the Sister then.”

\--

She wasn’t happy, but at least she hadn’t started yelling, Blaze thinks. She was conferring with Papa II in hushed voices as Blaze and the water ghoul stood by respectfully. Blaze twines his tails around the other ghoul’s as he cranes his neck to look around, wide eyed, at the intriguing furnishings of Sister Imperator’s office. It’s nowhere near the opulence of any of the Papa’s offices, but to the water ghoul the place was ornate beyond imagining. Blaze yanks on his tail when he tries to wander off to the bookcase, making the ghoul squeak in irritation, though he’s quickly cowed by the look Blaze levels at him.

“This has proved to be quite a problematic situation,” Sister Imperator sighs as she walks back to the waiting ghouls. She runs her eyes over the water ghoul, who is hunched in on himself and studiously staring at his bare feet. “Without a summoning we have no bond to him. If something were to happen…” She trails off, shaking her head. Blaze knows this, he’d gone over the whole scenario in his head as he showered earlier. Without the bond for control, the ghoul could easily go rogue and cause an untold amount of mischief, potentially even putting the entire church at risk.

“We’ll need to reopen the portal and send him back,” she continues briskly only to be cut off by a terrified whimper from the water ghoul. He steps behind Blaze, dropping to his heels and clutching at the fire ghoul’s legs as if it would save him from the Sister’s ire. She stares at the creature, having never experienced such behavior from a ghoul. Papa II snorts from where he’s seated, rolling his eyes and muttering quietly, “Pathetic.”

“Sister, if I may,” Blaze interrupts, bowing his head respectfully to her. “I would take complete responsibility for him.”

Papa barks a sharp laugh, Sister shooting the man a warning glare before regarding the two ghouls again. Alpha had made the situation clear to them before Blaze and his wayward ghoul had arrived. That the old fire ghoul was so quick to offer his protection to the ghoul cowering at his feet spoke volumes of how things have gone.

“Very well,” she concedes, knowing that keeping the ghouls, especially the powerful, ancient ones such as Blaze, content was paramount at this stage in the clergy’s plans. “But remember, should things… devolve, you will be required to deal with him yourself, is that understood?”

“Yes, Sister,” the fire ghoul nods, the eyes behind his mask glittering darkly.

“Good. Now, go see Air. And please do something about his hair, it’s atrocious,” Sister dismisses them, turning on her heel and marching back to her desk to speak with Papa.

\--

“You always find the strangest things,” Air murmurs, fingers running along the spines of old tomes lining the shelves of his study. Blaze hums, lounging in one of the leather chairs scattered about the large room, the water ghoul curled up on the ground around his feet. Being the eldest of the ghouls serving the church and the keeper of all their knowledge, Air was given a large amount of respect and deference from clergy and ghouls alike. He finds the tome he was searching for, pulling the huge, ancient thing from the shelf and setting on his desk, carefully opening it and flipping through the pages with a wave of his hand over the old vellum. The pages settle softly at the spell he wants, tracing the old scribed words with a delicate claw. He rounds the desk, motioning for the terrified ghoul to stand. The poor thing shivers and clings to Blaze’s feet, a worried trill coming from his throat as he cowers away from the huge ghoul. Air is equal parts amazed and exasperated at the display; how Blaze managed to find a ghoul even more timid and scared than his own little Earth, he’ll never know.

“Go on,” Blaze tsks at him, nudging him gently with a foot, “He won’t hurt you.”

The water ghoul finally extracts himself from the relative safety of Blaze’s legs, tail coiling around one of his own legs as he hunches forward before Air. The elder ghoul snorts quietly before raising a large hand, claws tracing sigils into the space above the water ghoul’s forehead, voice picking up a quiet, droning chant. The atmosphere crackles with power, Air’s claws gleaming with a silvery light as he reaches forward and presses them to the water ghoul’s forehead, speaking the final word to complete the spell. The ghoul hisses and jerks away, tripping on his feet and collapsing onto Blaze’s lap.

“Argh,” he moans, clutching at his head. It felt as if millions of tiny insects were crawling about inside it, skittering and chittering along his synapses.

“You’ll get used to it,” Blaze hums, nuzzling at his neck soothingly. Air wanders back to his desk, gently gathering up the tome and placing it lovingly back in its place on the shelf.

“Why,” the ghoul whines, dragging his claws through the tangled mats of his hair to scratch at his scalp, searching for relief from the buzzing in his brain. Blaze slaps his hands away, not wanting him to hurt himself as he adjusts to the spell.

“If you’re staying here, you have to be able to speak to the brothers and sister of sin. They can’t understand our tongue, so we speak theirs instead,” Air informs him, giving the ghoul a haughty stare. Blaze gently shifts the ghoul from his lap, standing and slinging an arm around his shoulders. He nods his head in thanks to Air before leading the water ghoul from the study.

“Now we get you some properly fitting clothes, a place to sleep, and fix this rats nest on your head,” the fire ghoul says.

\--

“Stay still,” Blaze commands, clicking the razor on and beginning to drag it along the water ghoul’s scalp. He obeys the fire ghoul, though he whimpers as he sees the first clump of matted hair fall to the bathroom floor.

“It’ll grow back,” Blaze reassures him, working quick as he could without nicking skin with the buzzing razor. Once done the floor looks like they’ve sacrificed a few squirrels, clumps of dirty black hair scattered about. He sweeps them up with a small hand brush and dustpan, dumping the mess in the garbage before regarding the water ghoul. He manages to look even more pathetic without his hair, now cut down to a dusky fuzz that he’s rubbing his hands over. Blaze wonders for a moment, if he made the right choice in not sending him back to Hell.

\--

“What happened,” he asks the sister, trying his best to hide the panic that thuds in his chest. The young woman shrinks away from him unconsciously, shaking her head to lead him further into the infirmary.

“The said he was up in the rafters, cleaning out cobwebs and dust when he lost his footing and fell,” she says, the words obviously rehearsed. She enters a room and steps aside, allowing Blaze to come inside. The water ghoul is propped up against some pillows on a bed, bandages wrapped around his temples and his right arm in a sling. Blaze expects him to be unconscious but he’s actually awake and visibly perks up at the sight of the fire ghoul.

“Blaze,” he chirps, grinning. Blaze has to wonder what kind of pain killers the sisters have given him, waving the sister away with a sigh.

“You are going to give me a heart attack,” he mumbles, dragging a chair to the ghoul’s bedside and slumping into it.

\--

“That’s the third time in two weeks,” Blaze sighs, dabbing a tissue at the blood dripping down the ghoul’s nose and from his split lip. He’d tripped and fallen on a staircase, knocking his face against one of the stairs.

“Sorry,” the ghoul mumbles, wincing slightly as Blaze accidentally knocks into his sore nose as he mops up the blood.

“I’m going to call you Rain from now on,” the fire ghoul mutters, tossing the soaked tissue into the garbage and pulling out a fresh one.

“Rain?” The ghoul tilts his head and blinks at him curiously.

“Because you’re always falling,” Blaze snorts, examining the ghoul’s face to ensure he hadn’t broken his nose.

“I like it,” Rain hums, grinning at the eye roll Blaze gives him.

\--

Rain sniffles to himself, glad he was alone in the massive kitchens. The other ghouls had dumped the pile of dirty dishes on the side of the large sink before running off, leaving him to clean up after dinner on his own. He knew they were all supposed to stay and help, but he didn’t have the backbone to say anything to them, instead hunching over the sinks and scrubbing away till his hands felt raw. _It could be worse,_ he tells himself, shuddering at the thought of having to go back to Hell. _But it could be better, too…_

He sniffles again, blinking his eyes rapidly to dispel the moisture that gathered in them. Blaze had been gone for a month now, sent on some errand by Sister Imperator, leaving him alone and adrift in the sea of ghouls and clergy. They all knew who, and _what_ , he was, and actively tried to avoid any contact with him.

 _Unbound,_ they’d chitter when they thought he couldn’t hear them, wrinkling noses and baring fangs at his back. Sometimes they would push him around, hissing at him in animosity in the halls. He’d just shrink back, hunching in on himself and hurrying to do the brother’s and sister’s bidding.

At least no one here had stomped on his hands. Yet.

Rain stacks the last dish on the drainboard, drying his hands and arms on a coarse towel. The water didn’t bother him, but the detergent wrecked his skin till it was dry and flaky, cracking and bleeding when he would make a fist. The halls are empty, the hour late and the ghouls all curled up sleeping in their beds. As he nears the dorm he shares with nine other ghouls he stops, dreading going inside. He doesn’t want to deal with them, doesn’t want to have to try and not trip over the clothes they’ll have thrown to the floor to make an impromptu obstacle course for him. Instead he turns back around, skittering down the halls till he slips silently from the church, hiding in the dark doorway to be sure there’s no one around to catch him outside after curfew.

Finding himself alone he darts off into the night, running across the lawn and into the forest nearby, heading for the sweet call of the lake that Blaze had taken him to before he’d gone away. The air is filled with the warm scent of spring blossoms, the heat of the sun still clinging to the trees and earth but slowly bleeding away into the night. The forest gives way to a clearing, a large lake of clear, dark water with a wooden pier dominating the area. He crouches, taking off his shoes, spats, and socks, stacking the neatly to the side on the wooden planks, before rolling up his pants legs. He sits with his legs dangling over the edge of the pier, dragging his feet in the cold water as he gazes up at the night sky. It’s calm and quiet, the gentle song of the water brushing away the agitation and loneliness.

 _I could just stay here_ , Rain thinks, wondering if anyone would notice his absence. The thought is inviting, the water lapping at his feet as if in agreement. He pulls them out and steps back, undoing the buttons on his fascia and cassock, folding them and stacking them next to his shoes, pants and underwear following. He then takes a few strides back, then runs, launching himself over the end of the pier and into the heart of the lake.

\--

His head ached and he was bone-tired, jetlagged to hell from the constant flights and train rides across thousands of miles. He wanted nothing more than to stumble into his room and fall face first onto his bed and sleep for the next three days, but he had promised he’d see Rain soon as he returned, and planned to keep that promise.

Blaze’s shoulders were slumped in exhaustion as he comes to the dorm Rain slept in, poking his head through the door to let his eyes adjust to the darkness. Curiously, the bed that Rain occupied was empty, the sheets and blankets still crisply made from the morning. He closes the door quietly, contemplating where the water ghoul would be at this time of night. He stops a little further down the hall, nostrils flaring as the scents the air. Rain’s scent is there, twined with the thick smell of dish soap and still quite fresh; he’d come down here not long ago, but had decided not to go to bed. Blaze follows the scent trail down another hallway, stopping before one of the doors leading outside. He narrows his eyes; Rain knew he wasn’t allowed outside of the castle without an escort and judging from the scent he was alone. Outside the scent begins to fade, but Blaze has a pretty good idea where the water ghoul would have gone.

His guess is right when he comes to the lake, though worry begins to eat at him as he only finds Rain’s clothes in a neat pile on the pier. He searches the water, unable to see the ghoul through the darkness.

“Rain,” he shouts, waiting to see if he would surface. He calls out again, louder, hoping that the water ghoul hears him. After a few moments, there is still nothing.

“Fuck,” Blaze snarls, tearing at his clothes in haste as panic spikes sharply in his chest, flinging them to the wooden floor jumping over the side to go find Rain himself.

The water is freezing cold, the shock of it making him gasp and choke as it fills his nose. He surfaces, clinging to the wooden poles as he coughs up the water before taking a few deep breaths, kicking away from the pier and diving below the surface. It quickly becomes too dark to see and he fills a small flame into his palm, the small thing spitting as it boils the water around it and casting a weak light. It’s just enough for him to see by, the silvery light glinting off scales of fish as they scatter away from him. He’s almost out of breath when he makes out Rain’s pale skin, swimming forward with renewed energy to grasp at his arm and kick desperately for the surface.

Blaze gasps for air as his head breaks free of the water, pulling the heavy weight of the water ghoul behind him to the pier. He hauls Rain over the planks with a grunt, clambering over the side to straddle his hips and slap at his face, yelling his name over and over.

“Ugh,” the water ghoul moans, shaking his head and blinking his eyes open. “Stop hitting me, I’m awake!”

Blaze’s arm falls and he slumps forward, shivering at the cold and stark sense of relief that floods through him.

“Sweet Lucifer,” he gasps, barely holding back the swell of emotion that clenches in his chest. “Don’t you do that to me again.”

“I can’t drown,” Rain reminds him, flinching when Blaze snarls at him.

“But you can still die of hypothermia, you idiot,” he hisses, noting how pale Rain’s skin is, the tips of his extremities and lips beginning to go blue from the cold. As if that reminds him the water ghoul shudders violently, a tremor settling into his bones.  Blaze helps him get dressed before dragging his own clothes on, needing to get the nearly frozen ghoul inside soon as possible. He’s not able to carry him anymore, the months of proper and consistent nutrition finally filling out his lanky frame, instead having to sling an arm over his shoulder and partially drag him back to the castle.

Blaze decides to make for his own room, not wanting to deal with the curiosity of the other ghouls who shared Rain’s dorm. Inside he tugs their damp clothes off, tossing them aside as he shoves Rain onto the bed. He curls up against him, twining arms and legs around the still cold water ghoul as he drags his thick blanket over them both, concentrating on his inner fire to slowly warm them both up. Rain hums contentedly, snuggling closer to Blaze before dropping off into deep sleep, snoring gently.

It takes awhile longer for Blaze to calm his racing heart, sighing as he’s able to remind himself that Rain was alright; he hadn’t lost another water ghoul, shoving the quivering mass of emotions to the back of his mind. He eventually drifts off to sleep, dreaming of nothing.

\--

“Why?” is all Blaze asks, strumming fingers against the guitar strings gently, playing a quiet, slow melody. Rain watches his fingers move across the instrument with rapt attention, giving a start when Blaze addresses him.

“They don’t like me,” he mumbles, snuggling into the blanket wrapped around his shoulders, eyes still transfixed on Blaze’s guitar. “I’m… different. I don’t belong with them.”

Blaze grunts, a claw catching at one of the strings with a twang. He was going to have to speak to the sisters about how the other ghouls treat Rain, though he’s not sure what could be done without him growling at them himself.

“Can I,” Rain asks, nodding at the guitar Blaze has cradled in his lap. The fire ghoul gives him a curious look but hands the instrument over, smiling gently as the water ghoul gingerly marvels at it. The blanket slides off his shoulders as shifts to hold the guitar like Blaze had, running gentle fingers over the strings delicately. He plucks at him, tilting his head as his eyes narrow in concentration. He strums a cord, then another, absently turning one of the pegs to adjust the tuning. He fingers begin to move slowly, eyes falling shut as he loses himself in the quiet song that he plays from some long-forgotten memory.

“Well how about that,” Blaze whispers, whistling softly in appreciation. Who’d have thought, he’d found a ghoul who could play after all?

\--

“This has become a bit problematic,” Sister Imperator sighs, flicking through the pages of the book on her desk. “We seem to be short one ghoul. Perhaps we can shuffle things around again…”

“We can’t pull Alpha and Omega back right now, they’re both at critical points in their missions,” Blaze points out, Air nodding in agreement. “We could just stay with the regular set of five ghouls.”

“No, that won’t work, not for what we’re going to be doing. Can one of the girls play bass, Air?”

The old ghoul shakes his head and the Sister sighs, tapping at the book in frustration.

“Sister,” Blaze says, an idea coming to him. “If you may, I have a suggestion.”

“Go on,” she prompts, waving her hands to motion him to continue.

“Rain can play bass,” he says, noting how she stiffens, eyes narrowing at the suggestion.

“Allowing him from the confines of the castle, being allowed among the human masses… that is a huge risk,” she warns.

“I can keep him in line, as can Aether. And if Papa Nihil does choose Copia as his protégé, he has proven himself quiet adept at keeping unruly ghouls in order,” Blaze explains, bowing to Sister Imperator respectfully. After a moment she sighs, flipping the book on her desk shut.

“All right, then. But,” she levels her sternest gaze at the fire ghoul, raising a finger threateningly, “If he steps so much as a toe out of line…”

“Yes, Sister. I understand.”

\--

Rain whoops in excitement at the news when Blaze tells him that evening, Rain sitting on the edge of his dresser as he plays Blaze’s guitar. Blaze huffs a laugh from where he’s sprawled out on his bed, the water ghoul’s delight infectious. He chirps and trills as his fingers fly across the strings, playing a fast, happy melody. A feeling coils in Blaze’s chest, warm and sweet, begging him to drag the water ghoul into his arms, to taste the salt of his skin, to bite and claw and mark, to stamp himself into every part of Rain’s being. He shoves the feel away harshly and wills it to fade; that would be the last thing they needed to deal with if Rain was going to be playing in the band.

“Lets go get food,” he offers, hoping that being among the other ghouls would clear his head a little better than being alone with Rain in the small confines of his room.

\--

“I swear he was just here,” Zephyr mutters, stomping her foot in agitation. “We aren’t going to get anywhere if he keeps skipping out on practice!”

Blaze sighs; they’d taken a quick break to make some adjustments and in the short time Rain had seemingly disappeared. He was going to have to have a good talk with him; just because he was some kind of musical savant and memorized all the parts already didn’t mean he got to skip out on practicing with everyone.

“I’ll go find him,” the old fire ghoul says, setting his guitar back on its stand. “Keep working on that last part, it seems to give us the most trouble.”

There’s a halfhearted chorus of groans in his wake as he leaves, deciding to check the apartment for the wayward bassist first. It seems quiet and empty at first, but something prickles at the back of his mind and he walks further in, pulling the mask and balaclava off to scent the air. There’s a faint sound from down the hallway and Blaze creeps forward, senses on edge as he closes in on the door of Rain’s bedroom. He hears the sound again, a muffled groan, as he puts his ear to the door. _If he skipped out to go jerk off, I’m going to strangle him,_ Blaze thinks, reaching for the doorknob and walking into the room.

He’s right, except, it’s weirder than that.

Rain is seated, nude, before his desk, legs spread wide as he pleasures himself. There’s a laptop ( _where did he get that from?_ ) on his desk, running what looks like some kind of streaming software.

“What the fuck are you doing,” Blaze growls, hackles rising as jealousy and possessiveness coils in his chest. Rain startles, screeching as he leaps forward to slam the laptop shut with both hands, jerking around to regard Blaze with wide blue eyes.

“Nothing,” Rain squeaks, the flush of arousal that had crept down his neck and chest deepening with the fear of being caught.

“Bullshit, don’t lie to me,” he hisses, stalking closer, blood singing as Rain shrinks away from him instinctually, skirting away from the desk to keep from being pinned down. “Where did you get that? What were you doing?”

“One of the brothers let me borrow it,” the water ghoul says in a rush, quaking in the face of Blaze’s show of dominance. “It was just… I just… They just wanted to _see_ , they gave me money…”

“ _Money_?!” Blaze snarls, baring his fangs at the terrified ghoul. “You skipped out on us to be a fucking cam whore?!”

“Uh, I don’t… Um…” Rain mumbles, tail hanging between his legs as he ducks his head and stares at the floor like a good submissive ghoul, still backing away slowly. His back hits the opposite wall in the hallway and he goes motionless, flinching when Blaze’s fists slam into the wall to cage him in. He can hear the fire ghoul growl deep in his throat, whimpering when he feels the hot rush of breath across naked shoulders. Rain bites his lip and squeezes his eyes shut, digging his claws into the drywall as he waits for Blaze to make the next move.

“ _Fuck_ ,” the fire ghoul breathes, letting his head fall forward as he takes a shuddering breath. The searing need to take Rain, to mark and claim him, to assert his dominance is like acid, burning in his veins and throbbing in his gut. While he realistically knows there’s not another person there to have to posture to, the instincts still scream for him to take what is his. He’s aware, somewhat distantly, that he’s going to have to work this out now, he’s been skirting it for far too long.

“Look at me,” Blaze commands, voice a husky rumble as he tilt’s Rain’s head up by the chin. The water ghoul complies, gemstone eyes fluttering open and locking with his own intent stare. He doesn’t have a way to say it in human words, instead conveying the emotion with growls and chirps: _you’re mine, no one else’s, mine._ Rain blinks at him as his eyes go just slightly wider, head tilting a fraction to the side.

“I… thought I already was,” Rain mumbles, and Blaze goes completely still for a heartbeat before surging forward to bite at Rain’s mouth, thrusting his tongue between parting lips to lick and claim. He feels the water ghoul shudder against him, an amused growl rumbling in his throat as he runs claws down Rain’s shoulders and chest, across the soft flesh of his belly to grasp his hips. He bucks forward, grinding his clothed body against naked skin, the last little bits of self-control starting to slip away as his hardening prick chaffs against boxers and pants. While rutting against Rain’s willing body was wonderful, the base want to be inside him, to fill and fuck him till he’s lost all coherent thought, sears his mind and bursts incandescent across his senses. He bites, sucking a bruise onto the pale skin of Rain’s right shoulder as he steps back and jerks him forward with the claws gripping his hips, pushing him in the direction of the common room. Couch, table, or floor, he didn’t care; he’ll fuck him on either or all of them.

Blaze growls deep in his throat, shoving Rain onto the coffee table as he claws at his clothes, jerking the fabric off with only the barest concern about damaging any of it. Finally freed of his cloth prison he drapes himself over the water ghoul, biting and kissing at his neck and shoulder as he shoves two thick fingers into his mouth.

“Get ‘em good and wet,” Blaze rumbles, dragging the claws of his other hand down Rain’s chest. He licks at the blood that wells up, humming in pleasure as Rain works his tongue against his fingers. Leaning back, he spreads the water ghoul’s legs apart with his knees, dragging the spit-slick fingers roughly against his hole before abruptly shoving them inside. Rain cries out, body twitching and twisting away from the pain of being suddenly overfilled and stretched, gasps quickly turning to quiet moans as the pain mixes in with desire, brain dumping a stream of endorphins into his blood. Soon he’s panting, grinding down on the thrusting fingers, making little chirps and trills of pleasure as Blaze works his fingers inside him.

Blaze gives an impatient growl, jerking his fingers free and grasping Rain’s thighs, rolling him onto his side to sling his right leg over his shoulder. He jams his fingers back into the water ghoul’s mouth, sliding the pads against Rain’s soft tongue as his mouth fills with saliva. He pulls them free, tracing Rain’s bottom lip lightly before smearing the gathered spit across his throbbing prick and lining himself up, teasing Rain’s hole with the head of his cock. Blaze thrusts forward with a snap of his hips, immediately falling into a fast rhythm as he pounds into Rain’s ass, the water ghoul moaning loud as he’s fucked into the hard surface of the coffee table.

After a particularly hard thrust there’s an ominous creaking, followed by a series of sharp cracks as the table gives way underneath the two ghouls. Rain yelps as his head hits the tabletop, Blaze hissing in irritation as he rolls them both off the broken piece of furniture to the carpet beside it. He rises onto his knees, digging claws into Rain’s hips to drag him across the carpet to press shoulders onto the ground and haul his ass into the air, spreading him wide and thrusting back inside in short order. He picks the punishing rhythm back up with ease, leaning forward to drape himself over the water ghoul’s back and sink his teeth into the meat of Rain’s shoulder while his claws rake across hips and the smooth planes of his back. Rain moans for him, panting Blaze’s name as he bucks back into the thrusts, spreading his legs ever wider to allow for deeper thrusts. The mix of pain and pleasure is intoxicating, his head swimming in pheromones and endorphins as he begins to babble incoherently, begging for the fire ghoul to do whatever he wished with him. Blaze’s hand abandons his back to reach around, stroking his erection with the calloused pad of his thumb before encircling the head between thumb and forefinger.

“Please, please,” Rain pants, hips jerking to thrust his cock into the circle of Blaze’s fingers. He clenches his ass around the thickness of the fire ghoul’s cock, the girth of it just barely too much for him to comfortably accommodate and he knows he’s going to be bruised and hurting later. But the ache is so delicious, sharpening that knife-edge of ecstasy till he thinks he could almost come from the stretch of it alone, makes the impending pain so very worth it.

“You wanna come,” Blaze growls in his ear, biting down on the shell harshly to make the water ghoul trill sharply. He can feel his balls drawing up tight against his body, heralding the on-coming rush of orgasm. He grasps a handful of Rain’s hair and uses it to drag him up and turn him around, flinging him onto his back with a yelp. Rain hooks his legs around Blaze’s hips, urging him deeper with each shuddering thrust as the two fingers slide teasingly over his own cock. He lolls his head to the side, baring his throat as he bucks his hips, begging for the hand on his dick to do something, _anything_ , more.

“Please,” Rain sobs, desperate for release. Blaze snarls, snapping forward to sink his teeth into the offered throat, worrying his fangs in deep, moaning at the burst of salty, metallic blood on his tongue and he’s barreling over the precipice, falling headfirst into the roaring tide of climax. The hand on Rain’s cock no longer matters as Blaze’s canines pierce the skin at his pulse-point, his own orgasm hitting him hard and fast as Blaze lays claim to his body with cock and fang. He wails, loud and long, as he empties himself over the fire ghoul’s hand and his own stomach, hips jerking till he’s spent.

The two ghouls lay there panting, Blaze lazily dragging his tongue over the stream of blood that drips down Rain’s neck. Distantly there’s a worry that he might have done too much damage, but the sweet bliss of post-orgasmic haze drowns it out as he preens at the wound; it was going to scar spectacularly, his claim staked out in flesh forever and always.

“Mine,” he purrs, tracing lips over the ragged edges and Rain winces, chirping quietly. He grinds his hips forward to make the water ghoul shudder before leaning back and pulling away, softening cock slipping free of the warm body. He drags his fingers through the mess cooling on Rain’s stomach, eyes drinking in the bright red lines and bruises he’s inscribed all over Rain’s body, grinning as a deep satisfaction settles in his bones. Those blue eyes snap to his again as Rain pushes himself up on one arm, grasping the hand tracing patterns on his stomach and bringing the digits to his mouth. He sucks them in, daintily swirling his tongue around them, licking his cum from the fingers before pulling them out and pressing his lips to scarred knuckles. Blaze shudders, groaning as he reaches out and grasps Rain’s head in both hands and yanks him forward into a bruising kiss. The taste of metallic blood mixes with the salt and musk of cum, leaving his almost dizzy as contentment swirls sweet and heady through his entire body.

“ _Mine_ ,” he growls against soft lips, nipping at them gently as Rain hums quietly in concurrence.

“Fuck,” Rain breathes after a few moments longer, voice hoarse as he turns to survey the splintered remains of the coffee table. “We broke the table. Aether is gonna have a cow.”

Blaze chuckles, wondering what would annoy the quintessence ghoul more: the broken table, the bloodstains on the carpet, or how the whole apartment no doubt now stinks of pheromones and sex.

“Let’s get cleaned up, then we’ll deal with the furniture,” he offers, rising to his feet and holding out a hand. Rain takes it and allows Blaze to pull him up, legs shaking as he forces the muscles to keep him upright. The bite mark was still steadily dripping blood down Rain’s chest; he was going to have to bandage it up, he’d been out of his mind and had bitten too deep.

“Does it hurt,” Blaze asks quietly, stroking at the flesh around it gently. Rain seems to contemplate this before shrugging.

“Kinda? But,” he pauses, searching for the proper words, “it’s a good hurt? Because it reminds me.”  
_That you’re mine,_ Blaze’s mind growls, forcing him to beat down the desire to shove the water ghoul against the wall and fuck him again till the only thing he could say and think was Blaze’s name. He merely hums in response, gently leading Rain into their shared bathroom to wipe the blood and cum from their bodies.

“I can burn some popcorn,” Rain says later, once they’re cleaned up and his neck is bandaged, pulling on fresh uniforms.

“Why,” Blaze asks, straightening Rain’s collar so that it hides the bandages and hickeys he’s left peppered on his throat.

“It’ll mask the scent,” the water ghoul explains, fiddling with his fascia and twitching his tail side to side.

“Really? Huh, didn’t ever think of that,” Blaze comments as they go back out to the common room. He finds a roll of duct tape in a drawer an contemplates the broken mess of the table as Rain stuffs a bag of popcorn into the microwave, setting the timer for a couple minutes longer than necessary and joining Blaze.

“Well, here goes nothing,” the multi-instrumentalist sighs, picking at the pieces of the table.

\--

“Oh damnit, not again,” Zephyr sighs as she scrunches her nose up. The stink of burnt popcorn pervades the hallway; they haven’t even walked into the apartment yet and they could smell it. The other ghouls growl and sigh along with her; hadn’t they banned Rain from trying to make popcorn?

“What happened here,” Aether asks as they all walk in, the stench of the burnt snack grating against all of their nerves.

“Oh, sorry about that, I forgot it again,” Rain calls out cheerily as he tears a strip of duct tape from the roll, wrapping it ineffectively around one of the splintered table legs.

“What have you done to the coffee table,” Earth asks, exasperated. Rain turns his wide blue eyes to the group, giving them a shaky smile before shoving a handful of expertly overcooked popcorn into his mouth, crunching away merrily.

“I fell,” he grins, pulling out more tape. Earth growls and snatches it away to keep it from being wasted further. Blaze snorts from where he’s leaning against the wall, watching Rain’s ill attempts at fixing the broken piece of furniture. Aether sighs and shakes his head, muttering to himself in resignation. Mistral steps closer, seemingly bending down to get a closer look at the coffee table.

“You… fell.” She states, and Rain nods enthusiastically.

“Yep, tripped and fell onto it!”

“Did you also happen to accidentally fall onto Blaze’s dick in the process,” she asks, Rain’s face freezing into a rictus of a smile and he makes a strangled noise. “You reek of blood and sex, and _him._ ”

“Wait,” says Ember, narrowing his eyes at Rain, “Does that mean… the table…”

“ _Ewwww_ ,” the other ghouls groan, collectively taking a step away from the desecrated piece of furniture.

“Eh, it was worth a shot,” Blaze cackles quietly, enjoying how freaked out the rest of the ghouls were, and secretly delighting that they now knew he’d claimed their bassist for his own.

“Alright, I shouldn’t have to say this,” Aether sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, “But no more sexual activity in the common areas, got it?” A mutter of consent follows and they all filter back to their respective rooms. Blaze helps Rain up from the floor, nuzzling the uninjured side of his neck.

“Let’s go find us a new table, shall we,” he murmurs, Rain turning his head to kiss him slowly, his tail wrapping possessively around Blaze’s.

As they meander down the hallway Blaze remembers something.

“What were you trying to get money for earlier anyways,” he asks, shoving down the rise of jealousy that spikes when he remembers catching Rain being indecent.

“I wanted to get that… play station thing? That Earth showed me,” the water ghoul mumbles, kicking at the floor as he snorts, “show him it’s better than that stupid ex box that he wanted.”

Blaze can’t help but bark a laugh for something so simple to start such a chain of events.

“Next time, just ask me for it,” he chuckles, throwing an arm around the bassists shoulders as they keep walking.

**Author's Note:**

> Come stop by <https://blacklight-ghoulette.tumblr.com/>, I take asks and drabble requests. So we can all roll in the sin together~~~  
> Bwaahahaha~
> 
> MANY THANKS AND MUCH LOVE FOR COMMENTS AND KUDOS!  
> Seriously, you guys have no idea how insanely happy they make me. Like, y'all're amazing.


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